Talk to the FBI and they’re likely to tell you that cyber crime isn’t going away anytime soon. Thus, if you’re considering a career in criminal justice, cyber security may be the way to go.
In general, a cyber crime is an unlawful act where a computer is the source, tool or target of a crime. Crimes such as cyber-stalking, computer hacking, embezzlement and identity theft have become the crimes of the new millennium and the need for experts to help detect, investigate, analyze and prevent cyber crime has increased.
Cyber Crime and Security Education
According to Steve Hailey, President and CEO of CyberSecurity Institute, careers in information security and computer forensics are booming. While having a college education in cyber crime and security is not necessarily required to enter the field, like most careers having a four-year degree is helpful.
Steve recommends a solid educational foundation in basic information technology including A+, Network+ and CCNA certification, he also suggests taking classes in cryptography, operations security and security management practices.
Cyber Security as a Career
The field of cyber security extends beyond the computer. Cyber crime careers also include investigative positions with law enforcement agencies such as the FBI. In addition, as we learn more about computers and the Internet the range of career opportunities in cyber security continues to grow.
There are literally dozens of different types of cyber security jobs from the more recognizable positions of cyber security analysts, cyber test engineers and cyber network engineers to careers in steganography, reviewing graphics files for embedded code; cryptanalysis, using analytics and mathematics to break codes, and cyber crime investigation, collecting, analyzing and investigating digital evidence to track cyber trails.
The importance of protecting an organization’s private information makes cyber security a vital and lucrative field. Naturally a lot depends on your education and experience, however, figures from SimplyHired indicate the average salary for a cyber security analyst is $69,000 annually while a cyber network engineer averages about $77,000 per year and the average salary for a cyber crime investigator is $96,000 annually.